What Remains of Uther Polbrooke
Rest and Relaxation The party rests overnight. As Nala and Mialee both heal, they have nightmares. Mialee sees her mother, who begins to flee from her father. Several hands overwhelm her mother and then eventually attack Mialee, who wakes up with a start. She notices they are down in the first chamber of the tomb of Uther Polbrooke. Hobb is sitting, twirling his axe, while Sil is looking at the murals for clues with his torch. She notices for the first time that they both have very vivid green eyes. Nala, meanwhile, is having a dream of her own. She is in a classroom and she has a sudden test she has to take and she hasn't studied. Luckily it is about the item she has been studying for a long time now, but the questions ask how much does it weigh? What is the size? Does it feel cold to the touch. Stuff she doesn't know. As the clock seems to speed up, the teacher melts into a swarm of undead hands flying towards her, which brings her to consciousness with a start. As Nala comes to consciousness, a darkness falls over her vision that she can't shake. The Odds of Solving a Puzzle The group begin to try to solve the puzzle of the murals on the wall. Each one needs to correspond to a analog clock below it. They look over the descriptions of the battles and the different times displayed on the clocks. They eventually realize that the number of combatants are different ratios and that the hour and minute hand on the clocks are pointing to numbers that may correspond to those ratios. As they switch the clocks to the appropriate mural, they hear a clicking sounds by the button on the far wall. Hobb, wasting no time, presses the button. There is a noise, but the trap that was sprung previously is not sprung. In fact, what seems like a seamless wall is actually a door and it moves back, then slides over, revealing a long, dark hallway. Hey, I'm Walking Here The party take the torches and venture further into the tomb. As they walk down the tunnel they realize several spots along the hallway have crumbled and rubble is spread throughout the hallway. It is still passable and they make there way down. They can see a doorway at the edge of their torch light. Before they can reach it, undead creatures known as Shadows emerge from the rubble. The party fights them, managing to avoid taking too much damage, though Hobb's strength is sapped a little by their undead attacks. After the party defeats them, they move forward into the last room of the tomb. Final Resting Place The party move into a large room with several coffins within. There is one that is much larger, and obviously belongs to Uther Polbrooke. The rest are marked as some of his lieutenants that died alongside him. Sitting on the ground, leaning with his back up against the tomb of Uther, is Colville. He is dead and a little bloody. He had various items on him, which spilled next to him as he died. Nala examines the items and discovers that this is a pre-made consecration ritual contained within a pouch of herbs, jems, and enchanted items. It was designed to be crushed within a bowl (lying on the ground) and ignited, which would consecrate the grounds around the surrounding area. Nala decides to complete the ritual and see what happens. What We Came For Sil and Hobb watch as Nala and Mialee search the room. Mialee searches around, examining items and putting them back. She then finds a piece of metal shaped as a shield with the crest of Uther Polbrooke. She dusts it off, then places it in her belongings. Nala has less luck, searching the room from top to bottom but finding nothing. She lingers on an empty spot next to the tomb, which looks like it has less dust than the rest of the room. An item may have sat her at one point on display but someone took it. Lying on the ground where it was is a broken signet ring. The crest on it is clearly visible, in the shape of three concentric swoops. She pockets it. Journey Home Hobb takes the remains of Colville and throws him over his shoulder. The party heads out of the tomb and emerge to the surface of the Debrokenaw Cemetery. It is now daylight, and that dark, foreboding sense that had filled the grounds is now gone. Apparently, the consecration ritual apparently worked. The party take several hours but they eventually return to the village of Tristian. Colville's body is returned to Erevan Moonmeadow, who pays the brothers the other 20 gold they were promised. Erevan seems guilty about Colville, but merely just says that he will see that he gets the proper burial. Mialee gives the metal emblem to Bondra Felnorth, who is quite happy with the results. He pays her the agreed price for keeping her shop closed for two days and goes about his business. Mialee has a new evening gown commissioned at the local seamstress. She also buys a few things to spruce up her shop. Meeting For Drinks The party remain cordial during the next week or so after returning as they survived an ordeal together. Hobb gets a new smaller axe and a shield with his cut. Nala heads to the local scribe and has him identify the signet ring as the symbol of the Greenwall Family. Sil invites them to a performance of his as his night job. They meet at the arranged night. Mialee and Nala sit and chat at one of the tables. Hobb stands in the corner, performing his bodyguard duties, but Sil has yet to show up. He finally bursts in late, looking a bit disheveled. He asks Hobb to watch the door as he heads up on stage to start his performance. Adultery and a Dinner Invite The reason that Sil rushes in becomes obvious and one tall, gangly villager followed by two large men, burst into the bar, clearly looking for Sil. One of them looked in charge and he ordered the other two men to follow him to a table towards the front, watching Sil intently as he began to start his performance. Hobb sprung into action and walked over to the men's table to see if he could diffuse the situation. Hobb offers a beer to the man, but he claims that Sil slept with his wife. Hobb insists that he leave. The two thugs with the scorned husband laugh after they realize why he brought them here. They no longer see the point of staying and leave. The man, alone, accept the terms Hobb presented him with and leaves. Meanwhile, Mialee and Nala are at their own table, not wanting anything to do with this, but watching intently. Bondra Felnorth is over in the corner, arguing with Korinne. As he is about to leave, he notices Mialee and approaches. He is having a dinner party with his cousin, Varis Greenwall, and he would love her to attend. He begrudgingly allows her to bring Nala as well.